Television advertisement monitoring system

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses systems for monitoring advertisements. A system for monitoring advertisements in a broadcast television channel in accordance with the present invention comprises a sound level monitor for monitoring an audio level of a first broadcast television channel, a data tagger, coupled to the sound level monitor, for tagging a start and an end of an advertisement segment within the first broadcast television channel, and a receiver, wherein when the receiver is first tuned to the first broadcast channel and then tuned to a second broadcast channel, an on-screen display is displayed on a monitor displaying the second broadcast channel, the OSD being displayed when the end of the advertisement segment within the first broadcast channel occurs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to satellite video systems, andin particular, to a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for anadvertisement monitoring system.

2. Description of the Related Art

Satellite broadcasting of communications signals has become commonplace.Satellite distribution of commercial signals for use in televisionprogramming currently utilizes multiple feedhorns on a single OutdoorUnit (ODU) which supply signals to up to eight IRDs on separate cablesfrom a multiswitch.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical satellite television installation of therelated art.

System 100 uses signals sent from Satellite A (SatA) 102, Satellite B(SatB) 104, and Satellite C (SatC) 106 that are directly broadcast to anOutdoor Unit (ODU) 108 that is typically attached to the outside of ahouse 110. ODU 108 receives these signals and sends the received signalsto IRD 112, which decodes the signals and separates the signals intoviewer channels, which are then passed to monitor 114 for viewing by auser. There can be more than one satellite transmitting from eachorbital location and additional orbital locations without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

Satellite uplink signals 116 are transmitted by one or more uplinkfacilities 118 to the satellites 102-106 that are typically ingeosynchronous orbit. Satellites 102-106 amplify and rebroadcast theuplink signals 116, through transponders located on the satellite, asdownlink signals 120. Depending on the satellite 102-106 antennapattern, the downlink signals 120 are directed towards geographic areasfor reception by the ODU 108.

Alternatively, uplink facilities 118 can send signals via cable 122either in conjunction with uplink signals 116 or instead of uplinksignals 116 to IRD 112, for display on monitor 114.

Each satellite 102-106 broadcasts downlink signals 120 in typicallythirty-two (32) different frequencies, which are licensed to varioususers for broadcasting of programming, which can be audio, video, ordata signals, or any combination. These signals are typically located inthe Ku-band of frequencies, i.e., 11-18 GHz, or in the Ka-band offrequencies, i.e., 18-40 GHz, but typically 20-30 GHz.

As satellites 102-106 broadcast additional services and additionalchannels to viewers, viewers will like and expect to see programming onmonitor 114 that relate to their specific needs and desires.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To minimize the limitations in the prior art, and to minimize otherlimitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding thepresent specification, the present invention discloses systems andapparatuses for monitoring advertisements during television viewing.

A system for monitoring advertisements in a broadcast television channelin accordance with the present invention comprises a sound level monitorfor monitoring an audio level of a first broadcast television channel, adata tagger, coupled to the sound level monitor, for tagging a start andan end of an advertisement segment within the first broadcast televisionchannel, and a receiver, wherein when the receiver is first tuned to thefirst broadcast channel and then tuned to a second broadcast channel, anon-screen display is displayed on a monitor displaying the secondbroadcast channel, the OSD being displayed when the end of theadvertisement segment within the first broadcast channel occurs.

Such a system further optionally comprises the start and end of theadvertisement segment being determined by the sound level monitordetecting audio compression, the start and end of the advertisementsegment being determined by the sound level monitor detecting a reshapedsound condition, the start and the end of the advertisement segmentbeing marked using a Vertical Blanking Interval, an EntitlementManagement Message, a Conditional Access Packet, or an internetconnection, a video recorder, coupled to the receiver, wherein therecorder uses the tagged start and the tagged end of the advertisementsegment during recording, and the video recorder skips the advertisementsegment during recording.

Another system for monitoring portions of data provided in a broadcasttelevision channel in accordance with the present invention comprises asound level monitor for monitoring an audio condition of a firstbroadcast television channel, wherein a first mark is placed at a startof the audio condition and a second mark is placed at an end of theaudio condition, and a receiver, wherein when the receiver is firsttuned to the first broadcast channel and then tuned to a secondbroadcast channel, an on-screen display is displayed on a monitor whenthe second mark occurs within the first broadcast channel.

Such a system further optionally comprises the audio condition beingaudio compression, the audio condition being a reshaped sound condition,the start of the audio condition and the end of the audio conditionbeing marked using a Vertical Blanking Interval, an EntitlementManagement Message, a Conditional Access Packet, or an internetconnection, a video recorder, coupled to the receiver, wherein therecorder uses the start and the end of the audio condition duringrecording, and the video recorder does not record the broadcast channelbetween the start and the end of the audio condition.

Other features and advantages are inherent in the systems andapparatuses disclosed or will become apparent to those skilled in theart from the following detailed description and its accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical satellite television installation of therelated art;

FIG. 2 illustrates a remote control used in the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a transmission portion of a system in accordance withthe present invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an on-screen display in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof, and which is shown, by way ofillustration, several embodiments of the present invention. It isunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Overview

The present invention allows the viewer who is watching live televisionto temporarily change channels, e.g., “channel surf,” when a commercialbreak starts and automatically alerts/reminds the viewer when thecommercial or a pod of ads (a series of back-to-back commercials) iscompleted on the previously tuned channel. Once the present invention isactivated, the viewer can channel surf or bring up other possibleservices on the television receiver, e.g., games, full screen channelguides, managing the PVR schedule, etc. When the end of a pod ofcommercials is detected, an On-Screen Display (OSD) is shown to theviewer, reminding the viewer that the regular programming has justresumed, and queries the viewer if they wish to go back to the previouschannel. The viewer can then choose to either stay on the currentchannel or go back to the previous live program.

When live television enters a commercial break from the mainprogramming, the viewer can activate the monitoring system of thepresent invention by pressing a predetermined button on the remotecontrol, followed by a channel up/down selection or entering the digitsfor a new channel selection. Alternatively, activation of the system ofthe present invention can be done by directly entering the channelnumber and hitting a special key on the remote control, e.g., the“enter” or “channel change” keys. Another activation approach is to setthe receiver to have the monitoring system as the default mode for achannel change. When the default is to have the monitoring systemactivated, the first channel change from normal viewing triggers themonitoring to begin and establishes monitoring for that channel, and anyfurther channel changes, until the monitoring system detects the end ofthe advertisement pod. The receiver can detect the base channel tomonitor by user control, e.g., selection of a button on the remotecontrol, by a viewer remaining on a channel for a specific amount oftime, e.g., five minutes on a single channel, or by other methods.

Once activated, the monitoring system of the present inventioncontinuously monitors the live program on the “base” channel until theend of the commercial break is detected. There are several modes ofmonitoring the commercial break, e.g., a dedicated tuner remaining onthe base channel and a second tuner used for channel surfing, using abroadband or dial-up phone connection to send a request to a server forthe base channel, and a message being sent back to the receiver from theserver when the commercial pod is finished, having the receiver join amulticast UDP stream sent over the satellite that provides anend-of-advertisement pod for all channels carried by the multi-channelbroadcast operator, whether it is via satellite, cable, orbroadband/dial-up. Further, a timer can be used to have a simplisticmethod, for commercials that are inserted at various known times innetwork broadcast shows.

The present invention can also monitor the commercial start and endpoints and mark the metadata start and end points into the PVR recordingmedia file for advertisement-free playback, or, alternatively,automatically skip those sections during recording to save hard drivedisk space.

With the monitoring system of the present invention, viewers are able toperform channel surfing or interaction with other user interface (UI)screens during live commercials and are notified in real time when thelive programming resumes. Hence, the present invention enables viewersto attend to other things without missing any valuable minutes of animportant live event.

Second, the present invention is capable of detecting start and endpoints of television commercial segments independent of their lengths.Viewers can thus choose to mark advertisements during recording forfuture use in various scenarios at a later time. The present inventioncan also insert start and end time tags into the recorded bitstream,which allows for an automated and more accurate skipping functionalityduring playback of recorded programming.

Remote Control

FIG. 2 illustrates a remote control used in the present invention.

Typically, IRD 112 and monitor 114 are controlled by a remote controldevice 224, which allows viewers a convenient way to control audiovolume, channel selection, and other features and displaycharacteristics from a distance away from the IRD 112 and/or monitor114.

The viewer has access to several commands through remote control 224,such as cursor controls which are typically controlled by buttons226-240, but can be controlled by other buttons on the remote control224 if desired.

System Diagram

FIG. 3 illustrates a transmission portion of a system in accordance withthe present invention.

System 300 shows ad detection portion 302, which receives the audio,video, and text stream 304 and determines, through metadata, audio levelmonitoring, or other methods, the beginning (start) and end of acommercial advertisement or a pod of advertisements. As these points inthe stream are determined, one or more methods are used to place marksor data points in the stream that can later be decoded by IRD 112.

The augmented video stream 306, i.e., the video stream with the startand end marks placed within, is passed to one or more of the VerticalBlanking Interface (VBI) encoder 308, Entitlement Management Message(EMM) generator 310. Conditional Access Packet (CAP) generator 312,and/or internet server 314. The outputs of the VBI encoder 308, EMMGenerator 310, and CAP generator 312 are passed to the broadcasttransmitter 316, and are then encoded and converted into uplink signals116. Internet server 314 converts the start and end marks 318, which, ifdesired, can also contain the audio and video portion signals 304, fortransmission on cable 122. Although the signals transmitted on cable 122are typically internet protocol signals, they can use other protocols,e.g., cable television transmission protocols, without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

As described with respect to FIG. 1, IRD 112 receives uplink signals 116via downlink signals 120, and receives signals from cable 122, eithervia the internet on a broadband or dial-up connection, or via cable linkto IRD 112.

Start and End of TV Commercial Detection

The system 300 of the present invention enables viewers to avoid TV adsduring a live broadcast, omit ads during a recording, and/or skip overads during a playback.

By monitoring the video and audio stream 304 with ad detection portion304, the system 300 detects changes in the audio levels of the stream304 to determine the start and end times of commercials. These start andend times are then transmitted along with the audio/video stream viasatellite, or can also be sent via a secondary transmission link such asthe interne, to IRD 112.

For example, and not by way of limitation, by using a broadband ordial-up connection via cable 122, the IRD 112 registers a monitoringrequest to server 314, which replies with a message to IRD 112 when thecommercial pod is starting or ending.

In another example, again not by way of limitation, using the satellitedownlink 120, or a broadband/dial-up connection, IRD 112 can join amulticast UDP broadcast that alerts when all channels for agiven-multi-channel broadcast operator are entering or exiting anadvertisement pod.

Audio Signature Analysis

Ad detection portion 304 typically detects one, two, or both of theoften found audio signatures employed by commercial advertisements. Thefirst is “audio compression” where a commercial's sound track isrecorded at a constant and maximum loudness level. The second is“re-shaping the sound” where the frequencies that human hearing is mostsensitive to are raised in level, while other frequencies are reduced insound level. A reshaped sound condition or an audio compressioncondition is detected by ad detection portion 304, and start and endtags are applied to the signal at the points where the audio signaturesmeet the required conditions.

System 300 of the present invention allocates a tuner to the tunedchannel and continuously monitors audio sound levels. Commercials aredistinctive in the audio spectrum and/or volume. By continuouslymonitoring the channel, the present invention can sample the audiolevels and compare that to the audio levels employed by commercials.Fuzzy logic can be applied to determine if the match is “close enough”to a commercial audio track to determine commercial or commercial podlocation. In DVR systems, the recorded content is preferably indexedwith a START marking such that a DVR that is attached to IRD 112 canmark the locations where the commercial segments are recorded, and canuse the markings to best utilize the commercial segments.

When there is a run or pod of commercials, each separated by a possiblesplit second fade to black or muted audio, the system 300 has a latencyto look ahead to determine whether the next segment is normalprogramming or another commercial before alerting the viewer that thecommercial pod is complete. When determination is made that the finalend of commercials has occurred, and resumption of normal programminghas started, an END mark can be placed in the VBI interval via VBIgenerator 308, and/or an EMM or CAP can be generated as part of thesignal. The appropriate messages are then sent to IRD 112 via uplink 116and/or cable 122. In DVR systems an END mark is preferably made in therecord content, which is saved with the recorded media file. On playbackfrom the DVR, these marks can be used to skip the sections between theSTART and END marks, or, optionally, real-time audio analysis can bedone even during recording or time-shifted playback.

Per Channel CAP Announcement

Commercial end announcements can be sent to the IRD 112 over thesatellites 102-106 in a Conditional Access Packet (CAP) via CAPgenerator 312 or Entitlement Management Message (EMM) via EMM generator310 per viewer channel. CAPs could be sent on all of the transponders,so no second dedicated tuner would be needed in the IRD to continuouslymonitor these announcements for the channel of interest. In essence, IRD112 would be tuned to a first channel, but the CAP/EMM messages of everychannel would be part of the data stream for that channel, such that thetuner would be able to decode the start and end of commercials on everychannel available to the IRD at a given time.

However, another approach is to use a dedicated single transponder orgroup of transponders for the CAPs or EMMs because of the system widebandwidth savings. However, in such a system, the IRD 112 would need adedicated tuner and transport filter to monitor the CAP/EMM messageswhile a second tuner tunes to the channel of interest.

The server 314 is equipped with monitoring equipment for each channelbeing broadcast in the multi-channel system. The server 314 tracks thestart and end of each commercial pod per transmitted channel. The server314 employs the audio monitoring technique and passes those messages asSTART and END marks, either via CAP, EMM, or other protocol, to IRD 112via cable 122.

Real-time Status Over Broadband Connection

In this mode of operation, the IRD 112 can receive real-time status ofthe monitored channel from the internet server 314 via cable 122. Forexample, and not by way of limitation, the IRD 112 can use portforwarding and use UDP or TCP near-real-time advertisement start and endnotification messages. The IRD 112 can request notifications for allchannels in the network or for a requested subset of channels in thenetwork. Alternatively, the IRD 112 can join a multicast UDP stream oruse a global or channel specific RSS stream with the start and endnotifications, again, with the ability to request notifications for allchannels or some subset of the full complement of channels. Real-timestatus includes the start and end marks associated with advertisements,as well as the start and end marks of a pod or series of advertisements.The system 300 of the present invention is thus able to determine when acommercial is over and another commercial has started, or when a podends and the regular programming resumes, as in many IP-based televisionnetworks.

An alternative system 300 uses internet server 314 to provides thisservice only for IRDs 112 that are connected to and request notificationof commercial start and end times from server 314. Notification can besent by HTTP or XML, or any other internet protocol. Another method thatcan be used by system 300 is through User Datagram Protocol (UDP) wherethe IRD 112 connects to an associated IP port for a channel of interestin the broadcast stream.

Tags Embedded in the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI)

Within the MPEG and DVBS standards, commercials and programming areidentified in the VBI field of content that uniquely identifies thecontent material. If this is being provided, then the system can monitorthis information and the tags within the VBI, and can thus be used todistinguish the start or end of a commercial.

The start and end of commercial tags can be embedded in the VBI, whichis currently used to broadcast closed captioning and data. In digitalnetworks, the VBI is represented as a field in the MPEG Group OfPictures (GOP) header.

No second tuner is required to continuously monitor VBI on the channelof interest for embedded tags for the currently tuned channel. However,once the monitoring system of the present invention is activated and theviewer begins channel surfing, then a second tuner would be required todetermine the Tags of the channel being monitored. Similarly, the tagscan be embedded directly into the GOP header.

Setting Up the Monitoring System

Set Alert and Then Channel Surf

The system 300 of the present invention can be engaged during theviewing of any given channel. One approach is that once a commercial orpod of commercials starts, the viewer then changes channels to see whatother programs are on, or attends to PVR scheduling issues, etc. Whenthe advertisement or advertisement pod ends, an On-Screen Display (OSD)alert screen is displayed on the monitor 114 to inform the viewer thatthe advertisement ended and the program that the viewer was previouslywatching has resumed. The OSD gives the viewer a choice to return to theprevious channel or to remain on the current channel via button choiceson the remote control.

FIG. 4 illustrates an on-screen display in accordance with the presentinvention.

On monitor 114, video 400 is shown, which comprises header 402 that istypically shown for a periodic time during channel changes within system100. Header 402 comprises a channel indicator 404 and a show identifier406 that gives a channel and text description to inform the viewer ofthe general nature of the video being viewed on monitor 114.

Immediately prior to switching to video 400, the viewer was watchinganother viewer channel, e.g., channel 11. With the present inventionengaged in system 300, either via VBI, EMM, CAP, or internet signalingto IRD 112, when commercials have ended on the previous channel, e.g.,channel 11, OSD 408 is displayed on the current channel as an overlay tovideo 400. Within OSD 408, although the selection can be outside of OSD408 if desired, selection graphics 410 and 412 can be provided. Usingremote control 224 buttons 226-240, or other buttons on the remotecontrol 224, to select graphic 410 or move the cursor 414 to graphic 412and select graphic 412. Graphics 410 and 412 can also be ascribed orassigned to specific buttons, e.g., red button 234 for “no” and greenbutton 236 for “yes” such that movement of cursor 414 is not needed; asingle button press can be used to indicate the viewer's desire or lackof desire to return to the previously viewed channel.

Selection of the use of the present invention can be automatic, e.g.,every time a user switches channels, the previous channel is monitoredfor commercial start and end tags. However, the system 300 can alsoplace restrictions on the use of the monitoring resources, e.g., theuser must activate the system through the remote control 224, the IRD112 must remain on a specific channel for a predetermined oruser-defined amount of time, or other automatic or user-definedparameters to limit the use of system 300 within system 100. Forexample, if a user is channel surfing, or does not remain on a channelfor a specific amount of time, the system can ignore intermediatechannel changes. If a base channel is not designated by the user, eithervia remote control 224 activation or via remaining on a specific channelfor a given amount of time, the system 300 of the present invention canbe programmed to not display the OSD 408.

For example, the “base” program can be specified by the viewer bypressing a special key on remote control 224 while tuned to thatprogram. All channel changes from the base program automaticallyactivate system 300 which then monitors that program. Once designated asa “base” program, the event is monitored until the program ends, thedesignation is canceled, or another event is selected to be the new“base” program.

Omit Commercials During Recording

With the system 300 of the present invention, viewers can choose not torecord commercials by setting up a DVR attached to IRD 112 during arequest to record the show. During DVR setup, an additional selection isgiven to the viewer to record the entire program or to record only theprogram without the commercials. If the latter is selected, the programis recorded without the commercials through the DVR/IRD 112 monitoringof the start and end tags in accordance with the present invention.

Skipping Commercials During Playback

When the user chooses to record a program in its entirety, the presentinvention still can insert start and end of commercial tags at the startand end of commercials in the recorded bitstream. The commercialdemarcations make it possible for the DVR/IRD 112 to precisely skipcommercials during a playback of the recorded program, even though thecommercials were initially recorded.

Uses for the start and end marks of commercials and commercial podsother than skipping the commercials during recording and playback arepossible within the scope of the present invention.

CONCLUSION

Although described with respect to advertisements, other portions of thebroadcast channel can also be marked, either by the system 100 provideror by the user. Such marks can be used to skip forward during PVRplayback, can be time-dependent (e.g., once a start tag or mark isplaced, the end mark or tag automatically follows in two minutes, threeminutes, etc.). Further, the IRD 112 can display the OSD 408 andautomatically switch back to the first broadcast channel within apredetermined amount of time (e.g., 5 seconds) upon detection of the endmark rather than asking the viewer to make a choice.

A system for monitoring advertisements in a broadcast television channelin accordance with the present invention comprises a sound level monitorfor monitoring an audio level of a first broadcast television channel, adata tagger, coupled to the sound level monitor, for tagging a start andan end of an advertisement segment within the first broadcast televisionchannel, and a receiver, wherein when the receiver is first tuned to thefirst broadcast channel and then tuned to a second broadcast channel, anon-screen display is displayed on a monitor displaying the secondbroadcast channel, the OSD being displayed when the end of theadvertisement segment within the first broadcast channel occurs.

Such a system further optionally comprises the start and end of theadvertisement segment being determined by the sound level monitordetecting audio compression, the start and end of the advertisementsegment being determined by the sound level monitor detecting a reshapedsound condition, the start and the end of the advertisement segmentbeing marked using a Vertical Blanking Interval, an EntitlementManagement Message, a Conditional Access Packet, or an internetconnection, a video recorder, coupled to the receiver, wherein therecorder uses the tagged start and the tagged end of the advertisementsegment during recording, and the video recorder skips the advertisementsegment during recording.

Another system for monitoring portions of data provided in a broadcasttelevision channel in accordance with the present invention comprises asound level monitor for monitoring an audio condition of a firstbroadcast television channel, wherein a first mark is placed at a startof the audio condition and a second mark is placed at an end of theaudio condition, and a receiver, wherein when the receiver is firsttuned to the first broadcast channel and then tuned to a secondbroadcast channel, an on-screen display is displayed on a monitor whenthe second mark occurs within the first broadcast channel.

such a system further optionally comprises the audio condition beingaudio compression, the audio condition being a reshaped sound condition,the start of the audio condition and the end of the audio conditionbeing marked using a Vertical Blanking Interval, an EntitlementManagement Message, a Conditional Access Packet, or an internetconnection, a video recorder, coupled to the receiver, wherein therecorder uses the start and the end of the audio condition duringrecording, and the video recorder does not record the broadcast channelbetween the start and the end of the audio condition.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the inventionhas been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. Itis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to theprecise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be limited not by this detailed description, but by the claimsappended hereto and the full range of equivalents to the claims appendedhereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for omitting at least one segment ofa video program that has been recorded, comprising: a sound levelmonitor that monitors an audio level of the video program; a datatagger, coupled to the sound level monitor, that tags a start and an endof the at least one segment within the video program; and a videorecorder, coupled to the data tagger, wherein the video recorder playsthe video program while selectively omitting playing the at least onesegment between the start of the at least one segment and the end of theat least one segment.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at leastone segment is at least one of a commercial, an advertisement, and a podof commercials.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the start of thesegment and the end of the segment are determined by the sound levelmonitor detecting a reshaped sound condition at the start of the segmentand at the end of the segment.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thestart of the segment and the end of the segment are marked using aVertical Blanking Interval.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thestart of the segment and the end of the segment are marked using anEntitlement Management Message.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thestart of the segment and the end of the segment are marked using aConditional Access Packet.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thestart of the segment and the end of the segment are marked using anInternet connection.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the recordingmeans records the at least one segment and the playback meansselectively omits the at least one segment during playback of the videoprogram.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the video recorder recordsthe segment and selectively omits the segment during playback of thevideo program.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the segment isomitted based on a selection made when the recorded video signal isplayed back.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the video recorderomits recording the segment during recording of the video program.
 12. Amethod for omitting a portion of data provided in a television channelsignal to be recorded, comprising: monitoring a condition of thetelevision channel signal; placing a first mark at a start of thecondition and a second mark at an end of the condition of the televisionchannel signal, the portion of data being between the first mark and thesecond mark; recording the television signal that has the first mark andthe second mark; and selectively omitting the portion of data duringplayback of the recorded television signal.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the condition is at least one of audio compression and areshaped sound condition.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein placementof the first mark and the second mark within the television channelsignal is user-defined.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the start ofthe audio condition and the end of the audio condition are marked usingat least one of a Vertical Blanking Interval, an Entitlement ManagementMessage, and a Conditional Access Packet.
 16. The method of claim 12,wherein recording the television signal further comprises omittingrecording the portion of data.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein theportion of data is selectively omitted based on a selection made whenthe recorded television signal is played back.
 18. An apparatus foromitting at least one segment of a video program that has been recorded,comprising: monitoring means for monitoring a characteristic of thevideo program; tagging means, coupled to the monitoring means, fortagging a start and an end of the at least one segment within the videoprogram having the characteristic; and recording means, coupled to thetagging means, for recording the video program having the characteristicwith the tagged start and the tagged end of the at least one segment;and playback means, coupled to the recording means, for selectivelyomitting playing the at least one segment when the video program isplayed back.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least onesegment is at least one of a commercial, an advertisement, and a pod ofcommercials.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least onesegment is omitted based on a selection made when the recorded videosignal is played back.